Mexican Tacos Al Pastor

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 10 pasilla chiles
• 10 guajillo chilies
• 1/2 garlic head
• 1 1/8 cups vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 5 whole cloves
• salt
• 1 fresh pineapple or 1 lb canned pineapple
• 2 lbs lamb (loin works very well)
• 1 onion
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
• 2 limes
• 12 tortillas (preferably corn)

Recipe

• 1 for the marinade: seed the chiles, and chop finely.
• 2 mash them together with the garlic, cloves, and cumin; add vinegar (avoid touching the chiles and vinegar with your bare hands if possible to prevent burning the skin).
• 3 boil the ingredients in heavy saucepan until it thickens into a heavy paste, stirring frequently to avoid burning.
• 4 let cool.
• 5 cut the lamb meat in thin steaks or slices (normally the slices rest on top of each other while marinating and cooking).
• 6 apply the paste to the meat putting one slice on top of the other (at an authentic taqueria, this would form a unit topped with pineapple for added flavor and moisture, and placed into the rotisserie and rotated constantly).
• 7 cover and place in the fridge at least 6 hours (or overnight).
• 8 if using a rotisserie, cook the meat until well done.
• 9 if not using a rotisserie, drain the marinade and cut the lamb in small pieces.
• 10 put in a frying pan with a little oil and cook the meat with small pieces of pineapple making sure the lamb is well-cooked, using care not to burn.
• 11 while the meat is cooking, heat the tortillas.
• 12 finely chop the onion and cilantro together.
• 13 cut the limes in quarters.
• 14 serve the cooked meat wrapped in the hot tortillas, and garnished with the chopped cilantro, onion, pineapple, and the lime quarters.